Figure 8. Prophylactically effect of AMPK on abundance of p16, p21, SOD2, and SIRT3 proteins in mouse lungs with emphysema.

C57BL/6J mice were intracheally injected with elastase, and metformin (50 and 250 mg/kg) as well as Compound C (4 and 20 mg/kg) was administered into these mice through oral gavage. (A) Representative images of p16, p21, SOD2, and SIRT3 protein abundance in saline and elastase groups by immunohistochemistry. (B) Semi-quantitative analysis was performed using the Image pro-plus 6.0 software. *P < 0.05, ^*P < 0.01, ^***P < 0.001, vs. saline; ^†P < 0.05, ^††P < 0.01, vs. elastase-Veh group.